


Fading Star

by Kairyn



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Abi Is So Sad, Aftermath of Violence, Cuddling & Snuggling, Discussion of Death, Dragon Bros Taking Care of Each Other, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, My First Work in This Fandom, Old Age, Old Friends, Older Characters, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, References to Depression, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-04 22:19:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15850551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kairyn/pseuds/Kairyn
Summary: Shuten visits Abi after years and years.If you want to read subtext here well by all means, I'm not opposed.





	Fading Star

**Author's Note:**

> I have an obsession with hurt pretty boys that Abi fits into perfectly... and well, Zeno and Shin-ah and etc do as well... but I focused on Abi here. Didn't bother going back to check canon on which of the OG warriors died first because technically nobody dies here so its still possible. Also with how Seiryuu village in the present time of the manga operates I don't imagine it was actually necessary for the OG to have their own kids to pass it onto, just that it helped.

He probably shouldn't be doing this, he thought as he landed softly on the balcony of the only two-story building in the small village. Probably incredibly stupid, but, he had a ready-made excuse of passing by entirely by chance already on the tip of his tongue if he was questioned. He pulled open the window, mildly surprised it wasn't even locked as that didn't at all match the cautious nature of the one inside, but not enough to stop himself from climbing through.

The room wasn't all that big or lavish but comfortably furnished. The futon was the biggest piece of furniture in the room and was covered in blue silk with painstakingly embroidered golden birds depicted across it. Curtains blocked the head of the bed from view, but the fabric had been pulled back at the foot. In the corner of the room was a gloriously large bamboo birdcage that was very distinctly missing a door and housing about a dozen small bluebirds that were all currently asleep. He managed to not snort aloud at the sight, but it was a near thing. Typical.

"There are doors for a reason, you brute," came the soft voice from the bed as he stepped down onto the actual floor.

He gave a sharp grin at the insult even though it was so incredibly mild compared to some that he used to get. "Where's the fun in that?" Shuten asked as he closed the window silently and crossed the room. He pushed the curtain to one side so that he could look down at the unmoving dragon. He buried his reaction with ease of practice hiding them from eyes that saw too much and then casually tossed out his observation in a way he was sure wouldn't let on to his genuine feelings. "You look like crap, Seiryuu," he said lightly. "So _unperfect_."

"As always, you are charming to a fault, shark face," Abi replied with a sigh.

Shuten's smile fell at the again far too mild reaction. This wasn't the Abi he enjoyed teasing so much, and, no matter what he did, Shuten couldn't quite manage to get that Abi to reappear. He'd never been the same after, well... after. Shuten took a moment to look the Seiryuu over more carefully as it had been a few years since he'd last been 'passing by.' Abi still wore that ridiculous bandage over his eyes and had an air of despair about him that couldn't seem to be shaken, but the years also hadn't been terribly kind to their gentle animal loving dragon. His blue hair had faded to a color closer to grey although it was still distinctly unnatural in its shade and his body was thin and frail. Shuten wondered if Abi's wounded spirit contributed to his decline and made him more susceptible to illness (as he'd reportedly been sick with increasing frequency as he got older). He wished that idiot King was around to ask. Hiryuu would know... He would have been able to help Abi with whatever they had done to him. Shuten felt the familiar sting of loss that never truly went away refresh in his chest before slamming the door closed on that.

"You're staring at me," Abi said.

Shuten snorted and sat down on the bed beside Abi. He slumped a little and rested his arms on his knees. "Only fair, you stare _through_ me all the damn time."

"... not anymore," Abi murmured.

There was an awkward silence, and Shuten glanced off to the side where he felt another blue star shining nearby. He hated that it was so much brighter than Abi was. "Your kid?" he asked softly.

Abi shook his head slightly. Shuten nodded in understanding. That wasn't particularly surprising. Abi had continued to seclude himself from others after he left the castle. Shuten didn't even think he'd meant to start a village. Unlike Hakuryuu, Abi never seemed all that inclined to the idea of starting a family, and that had only grown into more of an aversion after he became terrified of himself and his powers. No, Shuten had pieced together through rumors and scraps of information (that he certainly _hadn't_ been seeking out like some sort of addict looking for his next fix! How dare you!) that Abi had just accumulated followers by accident as he travelled, and when he fell ill they had just stayed beside him right here in the forest where he collapsed. Of course, Abi had recovered, but he'd seemed content enough with the location so surrounded by his beloved songbirds and little fuzzy creatures that he'd stayed. And eventually a full-on village had sprung up, and some of his family from before the dragon's blood had even wandered to his side.

"Hakuryuu's family has exploded," Shuten volunteered after the silence became too lingering and oppressive. "You should go visit." Abi had only gone to Hakuryuu village a few times over the years, but at least he had, unlike that little brat that was off doing whatever in the capital. Shuten buried his annoyance (and worry) about that deep down where it could be dealt with later.

"I'm not supposed to travel currently," Abi said.

Shuten grunted and folded his arms over his chest. "Then I'll tell him to come and see you. Of course, he's an old geezer now too so it might take him a while to get his boney butt moving." Not that Shuten had a lot of room to talk since his own joints creaked and cracked all the time and his face had wrinkled deeper with each year that passed.

Abi's lips curled just slightly at the corner. "... I doubt that will work either," he said.

Shuten wasn't stupid, and he didn't miss the implication. He tore into his lower lip with his sharp teeth and ignored the tang of blood. "You giving up, Abi?" he asked. Shuten's leg tingled and ached as his own power flowed to his only son, but he clung to the power every second of the day so that he would have it longer. Abi's light had been dimming far more swiftly while the 'new Seiryuu' (and didn't that make Shuten want to pulverize something) was intensifying.

Abi trembled under his blankets and, before he could think better of it, Shuten had leaned down to wrap his arms around his brother-in-arms. "Don't you dare give up so easy, pretty boy," Shuten murmured against Abi's ear. "You can hold out longer than this. I know you can."

Slowly, Abi's arms came up to wrap around Shuten's stronger and healthier frame. "Shuten..."

"You know how I feel about weaklings, Abi. I wouldn't hang around you if you were one of those," Shuten said.

"I am tired, though..."

"So take a nap," Shuten suggested bluntly. "But you ain't leaving yet. You got that?"

Abi sighed and sounded mildly annoyed, which made Shuten smile. The Ryokuryuu pulled back enough to look down at Abi again and, impulsively, put his hand to Abi's pale cheek. "You'd break that useless one's heart if you went and died on us," he said as his thumb traced the lower edge of the bandage hiding those pretty eyes from view.

"Speaking of... has anyone spoken to Zeno?" Abi asked.

Shuten shook his head. "Not directly," he said. "I'd say he's avoiding us, the brat..." Shuten's thumb kept moving back and forth across Abi's cheek, and the Seiryuu lifted a hand to loosely wrap around Shuten's forearm.

"Shuten-"

"Nu-uh," Shuten said before Abi could even start. "I want to see them, Abi. I haven't since we left the castle. Or do you honestly think you could be a danger to me?" he asked sarcastically. He doubted he would have been in danger even if Abi had actively tried to devour his heart at their peak as it seemed unlikely the dragon warriors could kill one another. Plus Shuten had the utmost confidence Abi had never _actually_ wanted him dead.

Shuten saw the bandages get slightly darker with dampness over Abi's blessed eyes and brought his other hand up as well to cup his partially covered face. Zeno was usually better at getting Abi to do things he didn't want to do, but Shuten was determined. He had this terrible feeling if he didn't see them now he never would again, and that was just... not acceptable. "Abi-"

"I can't see you, Shuten!" Abi sobbed suddenly as the tears finally seeped through enough to roll down his cheeks.

Shuten felt his stomach drop straight down through the Earth. "W-what?" Without waiting for another second, Shuten lifted the bandage off and flung it to the side. Abi's eyes were red-rimmed from tears, but the beautiful golden eyes they all loved so much were cloudy and somewhat unfocused. He almost couldn't even see the gold anymore they were so covered with what almost looked like a slice of the moon. Shuten never expected it to be this bad. "Abi..."

Abi's grip tightened on Shuten's arm. "I can barely see anything! I hated these eyes so much! I just wanted them gone, but now-"

"Shh, calm down, Abi," Shuten said. "You don't have to say it," he promised. Who wouldn't be scared to be going blind? Especially with how much he had seen with those eyes? It kind of hurt, too, to hear that Abi had wanted his eyes to be normal again. Their lovely Seiryuu used to be utterly confident and proud of his powers in the beginning, even with the drawback of being paralyzed after and how indiscriminately deadly it was. To know that those raider bastards had hurt him so badly he didn't even _like_ his gift anymore was horrible.

"I want to see you," Abi said as more tears rolled down his cheeks. "I want to see you all..."

Shuten wished he was better at this. He wasn't the comforting type. He leaned forward until his forehead was resting against Abi's. It was an awkward angle to bend at, but he didn't care. "Can you see me now, Abi?" he asked as he brushed some of those tears away.

Abi's hazy eyes shimmered with tears, and his slit pupils searched. Abi squinted his eyes, deepening the wrinkles that had been hidden by the bandage, but finally, his eyes seemed to find him, and he nodded. "... I-I see you," he choked out through his tears.

"Good." Shuten stayed with his forehead pressed gently against Abi's until the other's tears had slowed several minutes later. "Better?" he asked, not even bothering to attempt his usual gruff tone of voice. He didn't think if he tried for any of his usual methods of disguising his real emotions that he'd be terribly convincing. Not to Abi who knew him too well and who Shuten doubted had been so perceptive only because of his dragon eyes, instead to him, it felt like the other way around. That Abi had been gifted such eyes _because_ of his natural skills. 

The silence lingered between them for another moment and, even though Shuten wanted to pull away because he was so very close to Abi like this, he forced himself to stay where Abi could actually see him. Abi lifted his hands from Shuten's forearms to brush his fingers across his face instead. Shuten was a little surprised that even though Abi's hands were somewhat gnarled with age, they still seemed delicate and soft. "You're so old, Ryokuryuu..."

"You're one to talk," Shuten said as Abi's fingers traced the features of his face in a way that made the green dragon warrior blush. This was all getting way too intimate, but he forced himself to not pull back. "You've been squinting too much. You've got some serious crows feet."

Abi didn't reply immediately and just brushed one hand back through green and grey strands of hair. "... I'm not going to get to see the others, am I?"

Shuten scoffed. "Stop being so pessimistic, damn," he ordered.

"I'm not sure I remember how to be anything else," Abi admitted. "It's been a long time."

"I'll have to go and track down the brat then. Make him cheer your sorry ass up," Shuten said.

"... I think I would like that," Abi said.

"But you don't think I will," Shuten finished with a scowl.

"I'm supposed to be the insightful one, Shuten," Abi muttered.

Shuten lifted his head just slightly to then drop it and bonk their foreheads together. "It's not nice to doubt others, pretty boy."

Abi frowned and pulled back enough to rub his forehead with one hand. "I'm just being practical," he grumbled. "If Zeno is avoiding us, what makes you think he won't avoid you until you can't chase after him anymore?"

"I'm faster than him," Shuten said. "It'll be easy."

"If it were so easy, why haven't you done it already?" Abi asked.

"Because the brat said he'd visit us," Shuten responded. "Besides... I don't really wanna go to the capital much..." He had avoided it at all costs, actually. Shuten had never considered himself sentimental before, but once he left the palace, he just hadn't been able to stand the idea of returning to it. Not knowing that things were so terribly different from how they were.

Abi was quiet for several minutes. "I don't either..." he murmured. "It doesn't feel right there... not with our King gone." Abi's eyes, despite being like two transparent moons, seemed to pierce Shuten to the core like they always had. Shuten found himself uncomfortable and looked away. It wasn't as if he didn't get it. He did. Far too much. He had never _needed_ someone as powerfully as he needed Hiruyuu and having lost him was unbearable at times.

"We'll see him again," Shuten muttered even though he was far from the most devout of their group. Quite the opposite actually. 

Abi swallowed hard. "I... Shuten... do you think... in the afterlife I will be able to see again?"

Shuten gave a start and stared back at Abi. "What? Of course, you will. That's a stupid question."

"Is it?" Abi asked softly. "My nephew's son is taking my sight bit by bit... how can I be sure that I haven't lost them forever? What if, when I get to heaven, I still cannot see? Not even with my old eyes? I'll never see any of you again."

That thought was terrifying on lots of levels for Shuten. One, leaving Abi in darkness for all eternity was horrible. Two, if that was the way things worked would he lose his leg or just the strength in it? And many other reasons besides. "I doubt that idiot King would allow that to happen," he said. "You'll see us, worry wart. I promise."

"You can't possibly know that!" Abi argued.

"I can and do," Shuten said firmly. "Besides, you're not dead yet, and you can still see. I'll drag the others here if I have to."

Abi's failing eyes searched for several minutes, but Shuten stubbornly refused to show any discomfort at the scrutiny. He wasn't entirely sure why this was so important to him, but it was and fighting his instincts when it came to the other Dragon Warriors was tiresome. Shuten had decided to give up fighting it. "... you're so different than how you used to be," Abi murmured finally. "Fatherhood agrees with you... and you have very pretty daughters."

Shuten was more surprised than he should have been. "You were spying on me," he stated, still slightly amazed. He should have known that Abi would do that, but he, for some reason, hadn't thought about it.

"Checking on you," Abi corrected. "But you needn't worry, I haven't been able to see that far in quite a while. Not since before this new green star I can sense was born. It was cute though... watching you fawn over them."

"I did not fawn over them," Shuten denied.

"You let them braid your hair... badly," Abi said with a slight smile beginning to crease his mouth finally. "And trotted around with them hanging all over you." Shuten snorted but didn't bother protesting again. Abi had clearly spotted him and wouldn't be reasoned with. "If it makes you feel better... you weren't nearly as bad as Guen."

"Nobody can be as bad as Guen," Shuten said dryly. Abi actually laughed a little which eased something tightly knotted in Shuten's chest. He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard the Seiryuu actually laugh.

"Should I feel jealous you visited Guen's family but not mine?" Shuten asked even though he wasn't serious.

"Well, if you hadn't waited until we were all old men to start maybe you would have gotten a visit," Abi retorted.

Shuten's grin faded a little. "And what were you waiting for, Abi?"

"... what makes you think I was waiting for anything?" Abi asked. "Maybe I just didn't want to."

"Or maybe you were punishing yourself again for something that wasn't your fault," Shuten said. Abi looked away, and Shuten knew that he was right. He wanted to smack Abi for being so ridiculous, or at the very least shake him, but he didn't. That wouldn't help. "You never had to be alone, Abi."

"It was safer for everyone if I was."

"Bullshit," Shuten responded immediately. This was just like Hiryuu's tomb all over again. Shuten really really wanted to kill the bastards that did this to Abi. Too bad you can't kill someone already dead. "When are you going to get it through your head that you're not as horrible as you seem to think you are? I'm fifty times worse than you could ever be."

"I don't believe that."

"Well, I don't believe you about being a monster, so we're even," Shuten snapped. He almost pulled back but didn't. They stayed where they were on Abi's bed in silence for quite a while. Neither of them really could be convinced of the other's point and didn't want to argue over it anymore. They'd always argued, but this wasn't one of the topics either of them wanted to continue with.

The silence was surprisingly comfortable despite the topic that had brought it on, and slowly Abi relaxed. Shuten hadn't quite noticed that he hadn't been but definitely realized when Seiryuu was no longer quite as stiff. "... you've been laying on me for quite a while," Abi murmured.

"Should I get off?" 

There was a longer hesitation than Shuten was expecting. "No," Abi finally said. "It's selfish of me but... I'd like you to stay a bit longer..."

Shuten shifted so that he was more comfortable and his head was resting beside Abi's rather than their foreheads against each other. "Then I'll stay for a bit. Kinda late to be flying off anyway," he said as if it were nothing more than a whim.

The two of them laid there for a while, and Shuten decided to not make any mention of how Abi slowly curled up closer. Not planning on going anywhere, Shuten closed his eyes and let himself fully relax. His leg was aching some from all the jumping around he'd done to reach Abi's village so resting it was probably a good idea. "Why did you show up anyway, Ryokuryuu?"

"Just passing through, pretty boy," Shuten replied instantly. He felt more than heard Abi's chuckle. "Shut up, Abi," he grumbled. "I was."

"Of course, you were," Abi replied. Several long moments passed. "... thank you, Shuten."

Shuten snorted. "No reason to thank me. It's what we do."


End file.
